Florida Turkey Hunters...

[FL-Boss]

Are you still hearing birds at all?  I havent heard anything since first 4 days of season. Just want to hear what others have to say. Soemtimes they will fire back up at the end of season I have heard?

[Jimbob]

I was out last weekend and the birds were going nuts, maybe it was the location but very vocal, I will see again this weekend, hopefully they still are.

[TrophyTracker]

They are still out there, doing their thing. They may be quiet one or two days, then spark up on the very next. The key is to keep pounding away on them. When the going gets tough here, it becomes a different ballgame, where very subtle calling,knowing their travel routes and knowing the lay of the land become the Killer Plan.

This Osceola is from Last Tuesday. He wasn't tearing the woods up, but with patience and some very light, realistic calling, he couldn't resist.





Good luck, and Don't Give Up

[MiamiE]

I'm heading out Thursday night to central Florida for the last hunt of the season. We will see how it goes. I'm hoping for similar success from my last outing there!

[joey46]

It has been a very unusual season for us in central FL.  Due to medical issues we did not get out until 3/24.  We heard a few roost gobbles and observed either single hens or large groups of hens with one strutter following along.  This scenario has continued.  Our one good chance at a suicidal gobbler was ruined when a cattle drive on a neighboring property spooked him off.  We hope that at some time during these last two weeks we will finally roost a lone bird that will respond.  It happened last season when we took a gobbler on 4/23 (season ended 4/24).  On almost every hunt this year we have either heard or seen birds so it isn't like they aren't around.  They just aren't playing fair this season.  There does appear to be an overabundance of hens to keep the boys busy.

[MiamiE]

Lets hope all these hens are bred and the gobblers start responding to slight calling!

[joey46]

Yes - the one we took late last season responded to very light clucks from two push pull calls.  It was the first bird we had heard that didn't have hens yelping back at him when he roost gobbled. 

[swamp_bird89]

They're still tearing down the woods in Lake and Seminole counties where I hunt....they will be gobbling in May too. Just like every year before.  

[TURKEYWHACKER]

Opening weekend was insane. Has tapered off since with on one day and off the next. Thats OK cause I've shot quite a few that came sneakin' in with lockjaw.

[MiamiE]

Sitting down now. Only seen a few jakes and hens. Heard some gobbling way off in the morning.

[blackmagic]

Seems to have been a little quiet.  I just hope one of those sneaky quiet ones slips in so I can try to get my sister to squeeze the trigger sunday. 

[dadsahuntin]

Though I am surely not a seasoned turkey hunter, reading lots of other area turkey behaviors, things just dont seem as they should. I have been in the same WMA south of Central Florida at lease twice a week since youth hunt and have not heard or seen alot of birds, they seem to be staying quiet and going deep. I did manage a Jake second week that came in quiet with 2 others and a hen.
One thing I thought was strange this week out was the tremendous amount of KeeKee calling that I have been hearing, no hen yelp no gobbles. Can someone enlighten me as to if its possible the poults are already running around? How should I respond to a Kee Kee, or not at all? Since I usually have one of my boys with me I cant move around much.

[blackmagic]

Turkeywhacker and I also had birds KeeKeeing last weekend.

[MiamiE]

We had a tough weekend although we did see birds. They were all jakes though. Friday morning we heard gobbling just across the palmettos to our right. He never showed his head although two short bearded jakes did. We decided against taking them both and wait for the gobbler. We also had gobbling behind us way off. Later on we set up under an oak and had two hens and a jake come in. It was my buddies turn to shoot so I look to my right and he's knocked out sleeping! Give him a nudge and he wakes up, but the jake busted us and took off. Turns out we should have taken those jakes earlier in the morning. Oh well, theyll be bigger next season. Saturday morning it rained all morning where we were and we didn't hear a single gobble, yelp, or cluck.